Welcome to the African Immigrant Professional Development Conference

Welcome to the African Immigrants Professional Development Conference (AIPDC)! We are  excited that you would be joining us for this year's event.  Due to the current pandemic and changes in the world, AIPDC 2020 will be a Virtual Conference.

The goal of this conference is to provide African immigrant professionals and students with skills and resources to attain professional success.  We believe through this conference, African immigrants can learn from others who have successfully navigated the American labor market and start developing meaningful networking relationship to help build their social capital.

We are pleased to offer a one of a kind leadership program that will focus on preparing and providing resources for African professionals and students to excel in their respective careers.  The conference will focus on training, networking opportunities, a career fair for participants, and provide sponsors with a pool of exceptional candidates. With African immigrants comprising of eight percent of the total labor force (Minnesota State Demographic Center, 2016) any under-utilization of their capabilities would deny Minnesota employers the opportunity for African immigrants to contribute meaningfully to organizations in which they workforce.

AIPDC is organized by the Center for Immigrant Career Advancement (CICA).

What Will You Learn?

Through panel discussions and break out sessions, you will learn:

• How to deal with challenges of racism, bias, prejudices , and navigating culture differences in the workplace
• Navigating the workplace as an African Immigrant Professional
• The role of self-efficacy in career development
• How to develop influential networks that lead to managerial success
• Practical interviewing and job seeking skills